This is a weird subject for me because I have had something stolen from me and one of the times it did happen to me, I felt it unnecessary for it to happen in the first place from my end. I don’t blame myself for the incident happening but I felt I could have handled the situation a little better beforehand. A couple of months ago (January 31st to be exact), I had my credit cards stolen from me at the gym I frequently go to four or five times a week during the work week. I usually have my routine of waking up in the early morning (sometimes around five in the morning and sometimes around six in the morning). I got up and it was like any other morning where I ride down Central Expressway and hit the lights and eventually there I was turning onto California Street. I decided (unbeknownst to me at that time of when I was entering the gym), that I would take my wallet inside. I walked into the gym like any normal Wednesday morning and off I went to do my cardio and my weight training. First, I stopped off at the locker where I leave all my stuff and I left my keys in there as well. I found it odd that a gentleman asked me that morning if I had a charger for a phone which might have been an android style phone. I told him I didn’t have a charger and at that time I didn’t think anything of it. I grabbed my usual Bluetooth headphones and headed off to do my business. I worked through the usual morning workout and then I headed off to my locker. I found my locker cut and my glasses off to the side in a random locker.
Missing was my key fob (unlike a modern key you just carry this around with you and leave it in the car and it will start) and my credit cards. I still had my keys which was awesome and just in case I needed to head to work I would call an uber or what have you. I was first upset and then sad because the person who took my credit cards didn’t know who I was nor did he intend to know who I was .I was also concerned about my car because I had seen my car out there the last time Iooked outside but who knows what time this thief could have grabbed my stuff and he could have taken off already. I grabbed my clothes and changed really fast before heading out. I walked out and saw my car was still out there which was a relief and I headed back to the gym to see if anyone had my key fob. Before I even headed in, a nice gentleman working at the front desk pulled out the key fob and right there I said thank you over and over. I told him I had noticed someone asking for a phone charger and he had a feeling as to who it may have been. He said he had found it just dropped out on the floor and he said he picked it up because he felt that someone would need it eventually. The funny part about the before and after of the incident is that there are a few things that matched up and a few things which I considered a miracle. I will touch on that in a second. The first thing after getting in my car I did was report my credit cards stolen from my local banking service and went ahead and cancelled my other credit card I had for other occasions.
I got to the office still a bit sad about the situation because I didn’t have my major credit cards but I still had my debit card. I waited a few days to see if there were any activities on the card. Eventually there were two that popped up from one of the major credit cards but they were settled right away after I declared that those were not my charges. Anyway, a couple days later I read an article in the local paper that said how a man had been stealing car keys and credit cards from that gym on an on, off again basis and it turned out that the gentleman was in the area around the same time my incident had occurred. I connected the dots and saw something in the article which stated that there were other incidents around the area and I felt that there was more than one person possibly committing these crimes but I’ll never know. Another thing I found odd (in a good way) about this was when the gentleman who gave me the keys was almost like someone who appeared out of the sky. I have not seen him since nor do I think will I ever see him. I wonder sometimes if those incidents happen to teach you a lesson about keeping your items safe and secure. If it’s possible, that gentleman could have been there also to teach me that not everyone has a kind heart but for the majority of people I would say that they are good people. After this, I went ahead and started putting my key fob inside a fanny pack which I carry around with me almost every time I go now. One good thing that came out of this was my sister-in-law laughing at me as soon as she saw the fanny pack that I was wearing. I also stopped bringing my wallet inside the gym and usually leave it hidden so no one can get to them. The gym I feel is one of the few places I can go to where I feel safe enough that I can leave my stuff in my locker without them being stolen. Now, I can go inside do my Monday-Friday of Treadmill, Stairmaster, Bike, Elliptical, and Potpourri of activities without having to worry about any of my stuff being stolen. I hope this person has learned some kind of lesson in the deed they did because I sure do know that I did. This life is full of surprises and those are thrown at you to give you some good lessons. If anyone is interested in reading the article about this person that may have committed these crimes or might have been connected in any way, I’ve attached a link in this entry.
https://www.mountainview.gov/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=1257&TargetID=9
Just Another Day... 